The St. James School Board covered a large number of topics and issues during it's last regularly scheduled meeting on Monday night at the Armstrong Media Center.

Many of the issues on the plate dealt with getting everything in place for the start of the school year on Sept. 3.

At least everything the Board could control. There was considerable discussion at the meeting on the road and infrastructure construction going on around the High School and Northside.

The roads are pretty tore up at the present time, but the contractor doing the construction work said the road work will be done before the start of school.

The administration and the Board will have to address any problems that might arise if the construction is not finished in time if that becomes necessary.

The Board approved payment of the July bills in the amount of $569,710 and the acceptance of a $500 grant from the United States Tennis Association.

The Board accepted the resignation of Northside Asst. Principal Mike Fugazzi, who took a principal position at an Albert Lea school.

The Board also approved the hiring of Stephanie Nordstag as the new Asst. Principal for Northside. Principal Karla Beck checked off a number of attributes that indicated Nordstag was highly qualified for the position. She is also fluent in Spanish and has a law degree.

The Board approved a contract for Business Manager Mary Richard for the 2013-2014 school year. The contract is for the amount of $68,000.

The Saintettes dance team advisor Beth Johnson and many members of the Saintettes attended the School Board meeting seeking approval from the Board to conduct a fundraiser.

The team has been accepted to participate in the Outback Bowl, which is played at the Raymond James Football Stadium in Tampa on New Year's Day.

The Saintettes requested permission from the Board to hold a fundraiser to cover the cost of the trip.

The Minnesota State High School League requires organizations like dance teams that are affiliated with a school system to seek approval before a fundraiser can begin.

The Board approved the request. Johnson said the cost per student for the Outback Bowl trip will be $1,700 and 17 girls can go on the trip.

It was said at the meeting that concern has been expressed by some parents as to whether that amount of money can be raised. Board member Dustin Anderson said, "We've got a pretty generous town, I think you will do fine."

The Board expressed a willingness to help the Lions Club rebuild the bathrooms at St. James Varsity Field contingent upon building plans being drawn up and a financial estimate of the cost of the project developed. The Board did not approve any funds to assist with the project on Monday.

Page 2 of 2 - Language changes to eight policies dealing with graduation standards and assessments were approved on Monday. These changes were made necessary based on legislative changes made this past year.

Another nine annual policies were approved by the Board. No changes were made to these policies, but the Board is required to affirm these policies are in affect each year.

General work agreements for fall extra-curricular activities were approved by the Board. Most of the coaches and instructors for extra-curricular activities are the same as last year.

One area that saw the biggest change was cross country where Brad Stark was named as the Head Coach and Steve Fligge and Kari Miest were named the Asst. Coaches.

The Personnel Committee spoke about the evaluation of Superintendent Becky Cselovszki. Because personnel records are confidential, two Board members spoke in general terms.

Bill Brown said in looking at the Superintendent's leadership that it had been a good year. "That the positives outweigh the negatives," Brown said. Jennie Firchau made comments along a similar line saying the good far out weighed things to the negative.

Northside Principal Beck delivered a School Improvement Grant (SIG) report. She said that Camp Northside was a huge success. A total of 193 students attended the two-week experience.

She said many teachers attended SIG funded conferences and workshops this summer.